Wareham's new AD Marc Loranger leads by example

When Wareham High hired Marc Loranger as its new athletic director this year, it got an enthusiastic leader with a proven record.

BILL ABRAMSON

WAREHAM — When Wareham High hired Marc Loranger as its new athletic director this year, it got an enthusiastic leader with a proven record.

Loranger taught physical education and coached three major sports at Plymouth South High School before accepting the challenge of running the athletic programs in Wareham.

Now, he wants his enthusiasm to rub off on his coaches.

"There is an excellent athletic history in Wareham," Loranger said. "We have some great athletes here and I'm impressed with how the coaches are working very hard and have their hearts in the right place.

"Our sports are all kid and student related. We want as many kids participating as possible so we can help them. That's more important than wins. If you've got a lot of kids and they're doing the right thing attitude-wise, the wins will come."

Loranger isn't speaking from theory, he did it.

He began the wrestling program at Plymouth South and would get 70-80 wrestlers participating each year. In his 16 years as wrestling coach, his teams won 11 league championships. In his second year of the program, the Panthers went 17-2 and won the South Sectional championship.

"It's easier to get kids out for sports as a coach when it's 'my team and my job' to recruit kids," Loranger said. "As athletic director, I have to ask the coaches and hope they're as aggressive about it as I was. If I can get that message to the coaches, they'll create relationships with the youth programs in town.

"You've got to get the kids out and then treat them right. I'm asking the fall sports coaches to tell their kids to do something this winter and spring with another team. As AD, if we get the participation, I'll be happy. There are enough kids in the building that the coaches can share athletes. They'll compete for some kids in some sports, but it will come down to whatever the kids want that's important."

After knowing everyone at Plymouth South, it was strange for Loranger to walk into a new school where he knew nobody. His outgoing personality is getting him known around school and he was pleased by the reaction of the volleyball team when the girls noticed him at the match on the road that clinched a spot in the South Sectional Tournament, a first for that program in decades

He was also the head football coach at South for five years and coached track as well.

It was hard to leave all that on a personal level, but, even though he called it the most difficult decision professionally that he had to make, Loranger knew it was the right one.

"It got redundant teaching physical education and doing the same thing for 18 years," he pointed out. "I left for a challenge. I got my administrative license and wanted the challenge to change things and help kids get the most out of their athletic opportunities. People tried to convince me to stay and, on the last day of school, there were a lot of tears. It was pretty emotional."

He brought ideas with him and implemented a captains lunch where the captains of all the fall sports teams and their coaches brainstormed ideas on the role of a captain and how to be a good captain.

There was a "meet the parents" night in the auditorium where the discussion centered around what they needed to do that season. He told the parents it was their job to watch for things at home and out of school. There was no hazing incidents allowed and they were told about "chemical health." Each team's coaches, players and parents split up and discussed what was expected of that team that season.

"I didn't realize how many things an athletic director does," Loranger admitted. "I had no idea it was this involved. Everyone said you'll be there all night, but I coached three sports and the time involved is not that much different from being the athletic director, which is as time consuming as teaching and coaching. I'm used to long days."

His work load became much easier with the hiring of Ruth Donahue for 20 hours a week to help with secretarial duties so Loranger could get to the fields and watch his coaches at work.

"My goal is I'd like to see more teams qualify for the tournaments than in the past," he said. "That involves getting the numbers and having the coaches understand when you're a head coach, you're running a program and that involves the middle school. The varsity coaches work at it all year round. They can't coach their sport all year, but when their season is over, they've got to make sure their kids are doing well academically. Let them know that you care.

"I'd like to start a wrestling program at Wareham. If I could run that program, I would be a better athletic director. I could lead by example. If I could get the numbers, it would show it can be done."

With his track record, nobody would doubt Marc Loranger.

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